1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to shoes, especially athletic shoes, and, more particularly, to a ventilated insole having a minimal height in a front region of the insole.
2. Description of the Related Art
Air circulation, especially in an enclosed toe region of a shoe, is often inadequate to properly deal with the dual problems of accumulating moisture (sweat) and odor at the affected region not only when the shoe is used for normal day-to-day activities, but also when the shoe is used for strenuous activities such as sports. Attempts to address these problems by using permeable, breathable fabrics and insoles having on-board pumps capable of pumping air are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,441,879; 2,668,372; 4,654,982; 4,760,651; 4,974,342 and 5,282,324.
Experience has shown, however, that the known ventilated shoes have not proven to be altogether satisfactory. In order to deliver fresh air to the toe region, air channels were created within and under front portions of an insole. These air channels occupied a non-negligible amount of height for which many shoes simply did not provide sufficient toe room. To minimize this height and space requirement for the air channels, the air channels could be reduced in height. However, this decreased the air flow therethrough and could even block airflow if the air channels were folded during walking or running.
Also, many known ventilated shoes employed a foot-operated pump in which virtually the same volume of drawn-in air was discharged. If a small volume of air was drawn into the pump, one must repeatedly activate the pump for adequate ventilation. There are times, however, when such repeated activity is not desired or possible.
Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to advance the state of the art of ventilated insoles and shoes.
More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to effectively and adequately ventilate a shoe.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a ventilated insole of minimal height to fit inside shoes, even with low overhead toe room.
It is yet another object of the present invention to use a small volume of air to entrain and accelerate a larger volume of air to effect ventilation.
A still further object of the present invention is to keep one""s foot drier and to remove moisture and odor from shoes.
In keeping with the above objects and others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the present invention resides, briefly stated, in a ventilated shoe insole extending between a heel region and a toe region. The insole has a top apertured layer and a bottom apertured layer superimposed at the toe region. Each of the apertured layers has a multitude of openings extending therethrough. The insole also has a pump at the heel region and connected to the apertured layers. The pump has an inlet into which air is drawn during use of the pump, and an outlet from which drawn-in air is discharged through the openings in the apertured layers.
The apertured layers occupy a minimal combined height. Preferably, at least one of the layers, if not a plurality of the layers, is constituted of a thin, flexible mesh or of a fabric. Two apertured layers, and even up to six to eight apertured layers for increased performance, can be superimposed and still fit easily inside shoes, even those having low overhead toe room. Air channels of appreciable height, as taught by the prior art discussed above, have been eliminated.
In the preferred embodiment, a base layer is connected to the apertured layers, and the pump is supported on the base layer. The pump includes an elongated conduit connected at one end region to the pump, and at an opposite end region to the outlet. The pump includes a pumping chamber and a resilient element mounted in the chamber. The resilient element has a plurality of dome-shaped hollow protuberances bounding voids interconnected in air flow communication with one another. The resilient element has connecting channels for interconnecting the voids. The pump is sandwiched between the apertured layers and the base layer at the heel region. The bottom apertured layer has an underside, and the outlet is positioned below the underside of the bottom apertured layer. The base layer includes a plurality of channels in air flow communication with the outlet. Air within the channels is entrained by, and discharged with, the air discharged from the outlet during use of the pump. The entrained air provides for a greater volume of ventilation air than would be achieved by the pump only delivering the drawn-in air.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.